


Love is a Polaroid

by a-winchester-fairytale (unleash_your_imagination)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fanfiction, Fluff, Gen, Gif Challenge, Love, Memory Loss, Picture, Polaroid, Reader-Insert, SPN - Freeform, Supernatural - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 08:20:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16888977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unleash_your_imagination/pseuds/a-winchester-fairytale
Summary: Love can be a lot of different things.  Sometimes it is complicated…and sometimes, it is as simple as a picture that represents a memory.





	Love is a Polaroid

“That was weird.”  Sam mumbled, hanging up the phone as Dean walked into the library.

“What?” Dean asked, not paying much attention until the look on Sam’s face stopped him.  He waited, but Sam was reluctant to answer.  “What is it, Sam?”  Dean repeated, growing more worried.

“I just got a message….from Y/N.”  Sam said, studying Dean’s face for a reaction.  Dean obviously flinched hearing that name and Sam saw his jaw clinch tightly just before Dean turned and walked away.

“What’s she up to?”  He called from the kitchen, trying to sound indifferent, but Sam could hear the tension in his voice and he smirked.

“She sounded like she needs help.  Some kind of case, but she didn’t go into any details.  Should I call her back?”  Sam asked.  Dean stepped back in the doorway, a beer in his hand.

“Yeah, Sammy.  Call her and see if she’s okay.”  He answered simply. 

That was two days ago…..

Today you were standing in a hospital, next to Sam, watching as the doctors walked into the room to talk to Dean about his condition.  He had been hurt badly during the hunt, badly enough that there was some swelling around his brain, leaving him with a case of amnesia.  The doctors kept using the word temporary, but none of them sounded too confident about it when they discussed it with Sam.

“So, what’s up doc?”  You heard Dean ask as the doctor walked into the room.  Sam rolled his eyes next to you.  You fought back a smile, knowing Dean couldn’t help himself.  Dean had always been good at making you laugh though.

“Six years.”  Sam said, aloud.  “He doesn’t remember anything in the last six years.”  Sam repeated, trying to making himself believe it.

“He’s going to be fine, Sam.  Dean’s strong.”  You tried to reassure him.

After explaining the details, the doctor handed Dean a mirror.  With obvious skepticism, he looked down at his reflection.  The face that he saw was his own, but then again it wasn’t.  There were lines where there hadn’t been before, a little grey peaking its way into his hair, scars that he didn’t recognize.  He reached up and touched his face, never taking his eyes off of the mirror. 

The doctor waved the two of you in the room and you stepped timidly inside.  You watched Dean’s eyes as he studied each of you, seeing the same differences in your faces that he saw in his own.

“What the hell?”  Dean whispered, realizing now that even his voice sounded older than he remembered.

“It’s going to be fine, Dean.  We will help you.”  Sam promised. 

“We are going to let you go home.  It’s going to take a little time to get your memories back.  It’s best to just go about your days like always and let them come back on their own.  You won’t be able to force it and it will only agitate you to try.”  The doctor warned.  He handed Sam a copy of the release paperwork before leaving the room.

“Sam, what happened?” Dean asked as soon as he was gone.

“We went on a hunt and you got ambushed.  Nothing we could do would wake you up at first.  I was afraid you weren’t going to at all.”

“Let’s get out of here.  This whole thing is giving me a headache.”  He complained.  On the way back to the bunker, Sam tried to fill him in on the things he needed to know, the bunker, the Men of Letters legacy, etc.  He made sure to leave out anything that he thought would upset Dean. 

When he reached the bunker, Dean looked around like the first time they found it, taking in the history and all the little things the two of them had added to make it home.  When Dean walked into his room to look around, Sam turned to you.

“You have to stay here, Y/N.”  Sam told you.

“Sam, I can’t do that.  This isn’t my home.  I haven’t seen Dean since we broke up two years ago.”  You argued, shocked that Sam would even suggest it.

“Dean doesn’t know that.  He doesn’t remember any of it.  All he knows is you, me, and him have been together since you and I left college to go hunting with him.  How am I supposed to explain everything to him?  Please Y/N…..”  Sam begged.

“Okay, Sam.  I’ll stay for a couple of days.”  You agreed reluctantly.

“Thank you.”  He said, hugging you tightly until you laughed and pushed him away playfully.  You had missed them both so much.

The next two days at the bunker were like old times.  Dean was so happy, without the memories of everyone they had lost in the past several years.  There was no awkward moments between the two of you like there had been on the hunt.  You almost forgot that the last several years had happened too. 

Late that night, you heard a noise in the bunker and quietly slipped down the hall.  You saw a light on in the kitchen and when you stepped into the room you saw Dean sitting on the floor with a beer in one hand and a pile of pictures in his lap.

“Hey, what are you doing?”  You whispered.  Dean glanced up at you.

“Trying to remember.”  He replied, picking up a couple of pictures and flipping through them.  You slid down on the concrete floor next to him, looking at them over his shoulder.

“What do you remember?”  You asked, smiling at some of the memories in his hand.

“I remember you took most of these.”  He said, looking at you.  You could feel him watching you and you looked up to find his eyes burning a hole into your soul.

“What are you looking at me like that for?”  You asked.

“I’m sorry.  It’s just so strange to see you like this.  You, Sam, even me.  In my mind, I’m still 27 years old and even though I know that’s not true, it surprises me every time I look in the mirror.”  He admitted, his eyes glistening a little.  “What if I just keep losing more and more?”  He muttered, looking away from you.

“How many of those things have you had?”  You teased, gesturing to the beer bottles stacked beside him.

“Too many.”  He replied, laughing a little.

“You’re not going to forget anything else, and the doctor said you would most likely get all of your memories back it’s just going to take time.”  You told him gently, placing your hand over his.  He twisted his hand so he could link his fingers between yours.  “Come on, lets get you to bed.”  You said.  Dean groaned as you pulled him up off of the floor.

“I wish I could remember you.”  He muttered as you walked beside him down the hall to his room.  You paused at the door.

“You do remember me.”  You replied, confused.

“No, not YOU…me and you.”  He explained.  “All I remember is how much I always wanted you, loved you.  I remember watching every little thing you did, the way you bite your lip when you are concentrating, the way you always patched up me and Sam after a hunt, the way you laughed at those stupid chick flick movies, the way you would hang your head on the edge of the windows in the impala when you were tired and you wanted the wind to wake you up.”

You smiled, blushing at his words.  Since you had been back in the bunker with him, it had taken everything you had not to cross that line with him.  Every time he joked around with you, every time he smiled when you walked in the room, every time he did something that he used to do when you were together, you had to remind yourself that those years were over.

“I wanted to kiss you so bad then.  I was always afraid to ruin everything with the three of us.  To think I finally did it after all those years, and I can’t even remember what that felt like….It breaks my heart.”  He said, looking down to hide his tears.

“Who told you about us?’  You asked, convinced that his confession was only because in his mind he was in a time before everything happened between you.

“No one.”  He said.  He pulled out his wallet and slid a folded picture out from behind one of the slots.  You could see how worn the edges were, the folds obviously having been unfolded and folded back many times.

He handed you the picture and you couldn’t help but smile.  It was taken 5 years ago, one of your happiest moments together.  On the back you wrote the words ‘I love you forever’.  You looked up at him, surprised.  You couldn’t believe he had kept it there all of the years after the two of you had split up.

You reached out and cupped the side of his face in your hand.  “Well, it’s been a while, but I think it went something like this…”  You whispered, leaning up to place your lips softly against his.

At first Dean was surprised, but as he kissed you back he suddenly felt like he was somewhere else….

 

 

> _A bar…on New Years Eve…you were wearing that little black dress he saw you buy and he couldn’t take his eyes off of you the entire night._
> 
> _It wasn’t long before you started wishing you hadn’t worn that dress.  All it had gotten you was a lot of attention from the wrong kind of guys.  By the time midnight rolled around, you were sitting on a barstool, next to Dean, and the two of you were making jokes about anything and everything._
> 
> _When the countdown began, you started to walk away to outside to avoid the onslaught of kissing that would soon surround you.  Dean reached out and grabbed your arm to stop you._
> 
> _“Where do you think you are going?”  He teased, acting like he didn’t see the sad look on your face._
> 
> _“Just need some fresh air.”  You tried to sound indifferent. You turned to go, but Dean didn’t let go of you._
> 
> _“Not yet.”  He said, when you looked back at him._
> 
> _As the countdown reached it end, confetti and balloons fell from the ceiling, auld lang syne played from the speakers, cheers of ‘Happy New Year’ surrounded you.  When Dean pulled you against him and held your face in his hand, you felt your breath catch.  His kiss was a surprise, but one you had wanted for so long._
> 
> _“Just for luck.”  He whispered against your lips, and kissed you again._

“What did you just say?”  You asked Dean, stunned.  His eyes fluttered open and he looked at you standing in his bedroom in the bunker.

“Just for luck.”  He repeated, a little unsure.  The look he saw on your face told him it was real. 

“You remembered?”  You asked and he nodded, smiling with relief.

“Do it again.”  He challenged, raising his eyebrow at you. 

The two of you spend the rest of the night, laying in Dean’s bed.  Occasionally kissing, but mostly remembering.  He would get random flashbacks, little moments in his mind, and you tried your best to help him fill in the missing pieces.  With each memory he regained, he became more and more confident that the rest of them would come back to him. 

You rested your head on his shoulder, fighting off sleep as he gently stroked your shoulder with his fingertips.

“Are you going to tell me, or are you waiting for me to remember myself?”  He asked.

“Remember what?” 

“Why we aren’t still together.”  He replied.  You leaned your head back and he looked down into your eyes.  “I may not remember the details, but I know you don’t live in this bunker with me and Sam.  Our stuff is all over this place, and you only have what was in that overnight bag.”  He explained.  You couldn’t resist a slight chuckle.

“I guess I was avoiding that one.”  You admitted.

“Fair enough.  Just tell me one thing…..whatever I did, is it forgivable?”  he asked.

“Dean, why would you think you did anything?”  You said, sitting up so you could face him.  He sighed, pushing himself into a sitting position against the headboard.

“One, because I know me.  Two, because I wouldn’t still be carrying that picture around in my wallet if I didn’t still love you.”  He answered.

“I never knew you still had that.”  You told him, thinking back to the picture.  “But there isn’t anything to forgive.  You had to cut ties with everyone when the Leviathan were here, including me.  You only wanted to protect me.  I know that.  Then…you died.  By the time I knew you were back from Purgatory, things had changed for both of us.”

“Can we change them back?”  He asked, hopeful.  Even remembering so many of the struggles that he had been through with Sam in the previous years hadn’t changed how happy he felt laying in the bed next to you.  He didn’t want it to go away.

“Are you serious?”  You asked, nervous.  “I mean, are you sure you want to do that?  You don’t even have all of your memories back yet.”  You added, afraid to get your hopes up.  You were so worried that he would change his mind once he did.

“I’m sure.”  Dean said, taking your hand in his.  “If you still love me.”  He added.

“I told you before….I love you forever.”  You said, with a smile on your face.  Dean laughed and pulled you to him, wrapping his arms around you.


End file.
